Steam vacuum-pump.



. ROBINSON STEAM VACUUM PUMP APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1!?!3- Patented May 11, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I! THE NORRIS PETERS c0.. PHUTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D. c

l. G. ROBINSON.

STEAM VACUUM PUMP. v APPucAnoN FILED 11111.4, 1913.

Patented May'11,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MW ($115!; 5 M. 5 5 E MIIIIII' THE NORRIS FET-ERS 50., PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, L), C

J. G ROBINSON.

' STEAM VACUUM PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1913.

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JOHN Gr. ROBINSON, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

STEAM VACUUM-rulermesses.

Application filed January 4, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN G. ROBINSON, a citiz n of the United States, and a resident of Melrose, in the 'county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Steam Vacuum- Pumps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to steam vacuum pumps whereby liquid is raised from a lower to a higher level by atmospheric pressure acting against a. vacuum created by the condensation of steam, and the object of my invention is to improve the construction and increase the efliciency of such pumps in the manner hereinafter set forth.

By means of the present invention the pump is rendered continuous in operation without the use of an air chamber, and this I accomplish by employing a plurality of tanks at least three operating successively, so that water is always flowing up through the main inlet pipe and down through the main outlet pipe thereby eliminating the periods of no-flow. If desired, water-wheels may be arranged to be operated by the stream of water flowing in either or both pipes, and if two such wheels are employed,

one in each pipe, it is possible to obtain with a given head the same power that would be obtained with twice such head were a single wheel used.

My invention will be more fully disclosed by reference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of one of the governed tanks; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the governing tank; Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line li of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an elevation, and Figs. 6 and 7 are sections through the water-wheel casings in the inlet and outlet pipes respectively.

In the particular drawings selected for more fully disclosing my invention, 1 represents a series of tanks, herein shown as four in number, which I shall call governed tanks, and 2 represents a tank of slightly larger size, herein called the governor tank. An intake pipe 3 is provided as shown with branch pipes 3, each of which communicates with the upper portion of a tank and the bot-tom of the tanks communicate with outlet pipes 4L, all of which in turn are joined to the main outlet pipe 4. A pipe 5 communicating with a suitable source; of

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentcd'May 11, 1915.

Serial No. 740,146.

steam is provided with branch pipes 5, each of which communicates with a suitable part of the tank, herein shown as the bottom.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and at, the governor tank is provided with a float 6, preferably of considerable weight, and made hollow as shown so as to have the necessary buoyancy. Any suitable means, such as the upright rods 7 passing through the float, may be employed for guiding the latter. Horizontally-extending arms 9, 9 are pivoted a suitable distance apart to the upright standards 8 8 respectively which rise from the float. The arms 9 rest upon the brackets 10 and the arms 9, which are weighted at their outer ends, have their inner ends resting against the lower edges of the brackets 10. The chain 11 passing over the sprocket wheels 11 on the axles 12, is provided with two horizontally-extending strikers 11 arranged a distance apart substantially equal to one-half of the circumference of the sprocket wheels 11.

A chain 13 passes around the sprocket wheels 13 on the axles 14 14;, and the face of the upper sprocket wheel 13 is provided with a plurality of pins 16 at right angles thereto, arranged to cooperate with a plurality of sets of teeth 15, as many sets as there are tanks, which project from the side of the chain 11 and lie at right angles to the strikers 11". As the water rises in the governor tank, the lower arm 9 will come in contact with the lower striker 11, as shown in Fig. 4, and will cause the chain to move and rotate the sprocket wheels 11, 11 in a counter clockwise direction. When the tank is nearly filled, the upper striker 11 will have passed around the upper sprocket wheel 11' and past the weighted arms 9 which yield thereto, and just prior to the opening of the valve 38 which empties the tank, said upper striker 11 will be immediately below thelower arm 9. The float now descends and the lower arm 9 being in contact with that striker, which in the position shown in Fig. 4 is the upper striker, will cause the chain to continue its movement and the sprocket wheels 11 to continue their counter-clockwise rotation, in the course of which movement the striker shown in Fig. 4 as thelower striker 11" will pass below the upper arm 9. In like manner just before the emptying operation is completed, one of the strikers will have passed around to the right hand side of the chain 11 and past the arms 9 which yield to it, so that when the tank begins to fill and the float begins to rise, the strikers and the arms 9 will occupy the relative positions shown in Fig. i. In short, by the intermittent filling and emptying of the "overnor tank, the chain 11 is kept in continuous motion and the sprocket wheels 11 rotate continuously in a counter-clockwise direction.

In the present instance where there are five tanks, the five sets of teeth 15, equidistantly spaced along the chain 11 will cause the sprocket wheels 13 to rotate intermit- 'tently whenever a set of teeth cooperates with the pins 16. The resulting revolution or partial revolution of the axle 1a to which the upper sprocket wheel 13 is secured will cause a similar intermittent rotation of the pinion .20, fixed to the upright shaft 19,

through the intermediary of the beveled gears 17 and 18. The pinion 2O meshes with gear teeth 21 formed on the inner face of the wheel 22, and it will be understood that the entire inner periphery of the wheel 22 is provided with such teeth, although for the purpose of simplifylng the drawlngs a portion only is shown. The outer and under beveled face of the wheel is provided with a sufficient number of teeth 24 to cause a single revolution of each of the beveled pinions 25, which as shown, are mounted on axles supported by the top of each tank. Each pinion 25 is provided with a pin 26 which, cooperating with the cross-head 27,

causes the rod 28, which carries the valves 29 and 30 to move upwardly and clownwardly at the proper times to exhaust the tank of air and to admit steam from the branch steam pipes 5 as hereinafter more fully explained.

Each of the governed tanks 1, as well as the governing tank 2, is provided with a chain 31 which passes around the sprocket wheels 31 and carries the strikers 32, 32. By means of the pin and cross-head connection 3 1-, 35, the valve 38 is opened and closed to empty the tank and by the pin and cross-head connection 36, 37, the valve 39 is opened and held open for an appropriate period for the purpose of breaking the vacuum. Each of the governed tanks has a float 6, which may be guided by the rods 7 or other appropriate means.

One arrangement for converting the head of water obtained by the vacuum pump into power is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 in which the inlet and outlet pipes are provided with water-wheel housings 40, 41, respectively, each containing a water-wheel i0 -11 mounted on the shaft 12 and reversely arranged, so that water passing up the pipe 3 and down the pipe 4 will cause the wheels to rotate in the same direction.

A reservoir, which may be either natural or artificial, is shown at 43 2 valves 29 and 30 of said tank, and permitting the stream to fill the tank and expel the air therefrom as long as the valves are open, and then in closing said valves With the resulting formation of a vacuum in the tank. The vacuum will cause the water in the reservoir to flow up through the pipe 3 and into the governor tank by way of the particular branch 3' which leads thereto, whereupon the float 6 will begin to rise as above set forth and put the endless chain 11 into motion. In order to prevent the vacuum created in the governor or in any of the governed tanks from being dissipated by way of the branch pipes 3 into any of the other tanks, each of said branch pipes 3 may be provided with a check valve 3 opening upward so as not to retard the passage of water through said branch pipe into the tank in which it is designed to fiow, but remaining seated when the vacuum created in any other tank exerts its influence thereon. Before the tank is filled, the cooperation of the teeth 15 and pins 16 will cause the sprocket wheel 13 to rotate as above set forth, and motion will be transmitted to the wheel 22, which in turn will successively operate the rods 28 and the valves 29 and 30 of the governed tanks, so that steam successively will be admitted thereto and vacuums formed therein. For example, the governor tank and the two governed tanks to the right thereof may be filling at the same time, the governor tank being completely filled at the moment the next tank is threequarters full and the second tank therefrom one-quarter full. As soon as the float 6 in the governor tank strikes the lug .32, the sprockets 31 will be turned in a counterclockwise direction and the valves 38, 39 will be opened. The opening of the valve 39 breaks the vacuum, and as will be obvious this valve will be held open by the pin and cross-head connection until the float comes in contact with the striker 32 and causes the chain to rotate the sprocket in a clockwise direction. As soon as the valve 38 is opened, the governor tank begins emptying into the branch 1 of the outlet pipe 4 and when the level of the water is such as to bringthe float again in contact with the striker 32, the lower sprocket 31' closes the valve 38. Similarly each of the governed tanks is emptied atthe proper time by the cooperation of their floats 6 and the strikers on their chains 31.

It will be obvious that the various parts may be so designed and arranged as to obtain a continuous flow of water up the pipe 3 and down the pipe 4. For example, when the governor tank is full and about to discharge, the water may be rising in the next tank and the tank be about three-quarters full; the water may be rising in the third tank and this tank about one-quarter full; the steam may be entering the fourth tank in order to form the vacuum; and the fifth tank may be emptying and be about onehalf full. At the next instant the governor tank may be emptying, the next tank full, the third tank three-quarters full, the vacuum in the fourth tank completely formed and water rising therein &c.

If necessary, the vertical rod 19 may have secured to it an inverted conical or semispherical shell 45, the lower edges of which extend into a circular groove in the top of the governor tank, and this groove may be filled with oil, mercury, or other suitable fluid, so as to prevent the entrance of air into the tank when the vacuum is formed by way of the bearing of the rod 19 in the top of the tank.

It will be understood of course that I do not limit myself to any particular number of tanks and have chosen five as a convenient number for illustrating the principle of my invention, although it would seem probable that five is the minimum number that may be employed to advantage. Pref erably, a valve 44, opening upward, is placed in the inlet pipe for thepurpose of keeping that portion of the pipe above the valve alwa s filled with water.

I c aim:

In a steam vacuum pump, a governor tank, a plurality of governed tanks associated therewith, a water valve, a steam valve and a vacuum-breaking valve in each of said tanks, float-controlled means in each tank for actuating said water and vacuumbreaking valves, actuating means associated with each tank for said steam valves, and float-controlled means in said governor tank for intermittently operating said actuating means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rd day of J anuary 1913.

JOHN G. ROBINSON. Witnesses:

Gno. K. WooDwoR'rH, E. B. TOMLINSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

